Ekeng death prompts ‘better care’ calls

Cameroon midfielder Patrick Ekeng died after collapsing on the pitch while playing for Dinamo Bucharest in Romania

Fifa’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Jiri Dvorak, is to ask football’s world governing body to implement tougher rules on stadium medical care.

His comments come in the wake of the death of Cameroon’s Patrick Ekeng.

The 26-year-old died of a suspected heart attack on 6 May playing for Dinamo Bucharest in Romania, with the ambulance that treated him having no defibrillator.

“At professional football matches, there should be an automatic external defibrillator (AED) on the sidelines and staff adequately trained to use it,” Dvorak told BBC Sport.

“I will pass this on to the [Fifa] Council for a strategic decision so that we can implement it within our member associations.”

An AED is a device that sends a powerful electric shock to a heart to try to restore its natural rhythm.

Professor Jiri Dvorak’s reaction to Patrick Ekeng’s ambulance not having an AED:The question is why then have the ambulance there? If you have an ambulance, it is an absolute must to have a defibrillator within the ambulance.

Following the death of another Cameroonian, Marc-Vivien Foe, in 2003, Fifa has ensured that all of its international competitions take place in stadiums with sufficient medical equipment.

“We also have to see that competitions at national levels have the …

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